>> Saturday, March 08, 2008

First of all, I want to mention that I had a great time this morning at the Charlotte Heroes Step Up Challenge put on the the National Kidney Foundation of North Carolina. I really appreciate being involved with the event, and it was for a great cause. If you would like more information, you can go to their web site.

On to the weather, and wow was it windy today. Some trees came down, and unfortunately, someone in Charlotte lost their life when a tree blew over on to the vehicle. Tragic situation.

The winds are subsiding this evening, and they will not be a factor for our Sunday.

It will be cold tonight with lows in the 20s, but Sunday will be nice with lots of sun and highs in the 50s.

The weather next week looks pretty quiet with our next rain chance not until around Friday.

Here is where I give the obligatory reminder.....set those clocks ahead an our prior to bed tonight. Daylight Saving Time begins early Sunday morning.

>> Friday, March 07, 2008

Scattered showers will continue tonight into Saturday morning. At this point, it looks like the severe weather threat late tonight into tomorrow morning will probably stay to the east of the Charlotte and Triad regions.

I still think a few folks might see a stray flurry or even a passing snow shower tomorrow, especially up toward the Virginia border. But the bigger deal will be the winds. Winds will gust in excess of 35 or 40mph at times tomorrow afternoon.

Interesting to watch the snow tonight in parts of the mid-south and the Tennessee Valley. Over 18" of snow have fallen over portions of Arkansas. Winter Storm Warnings are up for places such as Memphis, Huntsville, and Oxford, Mississippi. Snow Advisories are up for locations deep down into southern Alabama and Mississippi. And, as this system lifts up into the Ohio Valley, some spots will pick up over a foot of snow in that region.

And, I mentioned this in my morning post, but I want to mention it again here. I have the privilege of being an emcee for the National Kidney Foundation's Kidney Walk and Charlotte Step up Challenge tomorrow morning. The event will take place at Independence Park in Charlotte tomorrow morning, and registration begins at 9:30am. This is the first year for this event, and we would love to see you out there!

For our area, look for periods of rain today as the first big slug of moisture with this storm system works through.

The activity will probably be scattered, spotty, and showery in nature this evening and into tonight. But later tonight, a surface low pressure will really begin to crank up over the mountains. Through the day today, we will have some sort of wedge in place for the Triad and Charlotte regions, however, as the surface low strengthens tonight, that wedge will slowly erode away from the east and south.

In the locations that see the wedge erode away, a lot of parameters are in place for a severe weather threat late tonight into tomorrow morning. But, how much the wedge erodes is the million dollar question here.

There is certainly the chance for severe weather over the eastern portions of the Carolinas, but it will just be a wait and see matter to see whether or not the severe weather threat will work into the Triad or Charlotte regions. The better chances for severe weather will likely be the farther east you go in the region, and again, we are talking about late tonight into tomorrow morning.

Back in the cold air portion of this system, snow will accumulate in places where it does not accumulate too often....such as northern Mississippi and Alabama. In fact, once you get up toward the Ohio Valley, a lot of folks will see at least 6 inches, with some spots seeing over a foot. Even in Memphis, Tennessee, 4"-6" look like a good bet.

Here in the Carolinas, the mountains will pick up some snow on the back side of this, and portions of the northwestern North Carolina mountains could easily see 4"-6."

Behind the system here in the Piedmont tomorrow, I could even see some snow flurries or a passing snow shower occurring, especially up toward the Virginia border. It will also be quite windy tomorrow. Quite an impressive system!

>> Tuesday, March 04, 2008

A new tornado watch has been issued for the entire region into this evening. Storms are beginning to show rotation at times, and I am especially interested in some rotating storms in South Carolina which, if they hold together, will lift up into portions of the Charlotte metro region.

An intense squall line is also developing off to our west and will race through here this evening.

Keep it tuned to News 14 Carolina, and if you are away from the TV, keep that NOAA weather radio alert mode turned on.

Moderate risk now for the entire area. Pre-frontal showers and some storms are spreading in. We will watch for intensification of any storms in this area. Also, there is growing concern about a developing squall line in eastern Tennessee down in Georgia.

In short, the severe weather threat is alive this afternoon and evening. Stay close to a good source of hearing watches and warnings.

The SPC has put out a 'moderate' risk of severe weather today over portions of central and eastern North Carolina. The rest of the Carolinas are in a 'slight' risk area.

The pre-frontal showers and storms are already pushing into the western parts of South Carolina as I am typing this, so this could be another case where these showers and storms out ahead of the front advance in too quickly for a significant severe weather threat for the Charlotte region.

However, the upper level dynamics in place today are impressive, and severe weather will at least be a possibility today across the entire region. The greatest risk will probably be over eastern portions of the Carolinas this afternoon and evening.

This is a good time to review your severe weather safety plan. In the event of a tornado warning, you need to remember a few things. First of all, a mobile home or automobile is not a safe place to be. If you are in a mobile home or a vehicle, you need to get out of them and into a sturdy structure immediately.

Once in a sturdy building, you need to be on the lowest floor in an interior room. Stay away from doors or windows. The idea is to put as many walls between you and the possible tornado as you can. And, most times a bathroom on the lowest floor is a great choice due to the room being a bit sturdier due to the piping involved in bathrooms.

This is one of those days to plays things on the safe side. Have a reliable way of hearing watch and warning information in the event they are issued. We will have you covered on News 14 Carolina in all markets.....Charlotte, Triad, and Triangle. So keep it tuned to News 14 throughout the day, and we will keep you up to date.

>> Sunday, March 02, 2008

Monday will be a quiet and warm day around here. But, there is growing concern amongst the meteorological community about the possibility of a big severe weather outbreak tomorrow and tomorrow night over portions of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee. In fact, in reading some of the discussions from colleagues over the Deep South, I wouldn't be shocked if we saw a 'high' risk of severe weather put out by the SPC for tomorrow.

Now, the big question for us if whether or not we will have any severe weather chances with this system. It is too early to know for sure, but I do think the potential is there for some severe weather around the Carolinas later Tuesday into Tuesday night.